Machine for making can bodies



June. 29, 1948. I F. w. ANDERSON v ,2

MAGHINE FOR MAKING CAN-BODIES Filed Oct. 15, 1943 Patented June 29, 1948 mesne assignments, to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 13, 1943, Serial No. 506,055 3 Claims. (01. 113-12) My invention relates to machines for making the bodies of cans or other sheet metal containers, and particularly to improvements'in the means for making the end portions of the longitudinal body seams.

In the art of manufacturing sheet metal containers, the practice throughout the industry is to form the body portion of a container in an automatic body maker, the sheet metal blank being wrapped around a horn, either to round or other shape such as rectangular or oval, the horn having the same outer peripheral contour as the finished container. The longitudinal marginal portions of the blank which are to form the body seam, are bent back to form hook portions which are then hooked together. A hammer or bumping steel is thereafter brought into contact with the hooked portions in a manner to tightly squeeze the said portions together and thereby form the longitudinal body seam which. maintains the body in the shape to which it was previously formed.

The hooked portions of the body seam terminate a short distance from the ends ofthe blank while the end portions of the seam consist of overlapping strips or marginal portions of the blank. This construction is obtained by cutting away corner portions of the blank, prior to the body forming operations. ,7

The purpose of providing these lapped portions of the seam is to facilitate the double seaming operation uniting an end of the container to the body. In this manner only two thicknesses of the body metal are formed into the double seam of the container body in combination with a container end, instead of the four plies or thicknesses which are comprised in the hooked portion of the seam; After the body forming and hook setting down or bumping operations, the outer lap of the end portion of the seamtends to separate from the inner lap portion because of the normal inherent resilience "of the metal, This causes a spring-like action by which the outer lap portion springs outward away from the inner lap when the bumping steel is withdrawn. During the operation of soldering the longitudinal seam, these separated laps are pressed together due to pressure exerted by the solder roll. As soon as the container body passes beyond the solder roll and the pressure is removed,. the spring-like action of the metal causes the outer lap to separate from the innerlap,because the solder has not yethardened nor set sufficiently to hold these laps together. This results in a defective seam so that the finished container, after the container end has been double seamed thereon, fails in the testing operation applied thereto.

An object of my invention is to provide new and practical means for overcoming the above difficulty and insuring a perfect seal between the overlaps at the ends of the body seam.

\ A further object of the invention is to provide means adapted for use in combination with and forming an improvement on a conventional type of machine for making can bodies, by which an overlapped end portion of the blank is bent or deformed in such a manner that it will not spring away from the cooperating lapped portion therebeneath when the bumping tool is withdrawn, thereby obviating any tendency of the overlapping portions to separate following the soldering operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear here inafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal part-sectional elevation of a portion of a can body forming machine to which the present invention is applied, said view showing a section of the horn and the bumper mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation at the line 2-2 on Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing the overlapped end portions of the blank with said end portions sprung apart.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary part-sectional view showing the means for bending or deforming the outer lap of the seam.

The can body Ill may be formed from a flat sheet metal blank by wrapping the blank around a horn II at the forming station. The marginal portions of the blank are bent to hook form, the hooks are interlocked and the can body positioned at the bumping station. These operations may be performed with mechanism comprised in a conventional machine such as disclosed for example, in the patent to Peters, No. 1,625,091, April 19, 1927, for Can body making machine.

The can body It is advanced along the horn I I to the different stations by means of feeder bars l2 mounted to reciprocate in the horn and carrying feeder fingers 13 which engage the can bodies. At the bumping station a bumper or hammer 14, which may be made of hardened steel, is attached to a carrier or slide l5 movable up and down in slideways. The means for reciprocating the carrier comprises a motor driven power shaft I6. A crank I! on the shaftis connected through a pitman I8 to thecarrier 15. The hammer or bumping slide l4 as itis moved up and down compresses the inter-engaged hooked margins of the blank and compresses them to form the four-ply seam 20 extending lengthwise of the can body. Each end of the seam comprises a short section consisting of outer and inner overlappin portions 2| and 22 resulting from omitting or cutting away short marginal portions at the corners of the blank. The side seam may be referred to generally as comprising interlocked hooks extending throughout the greater portion of the length ofhthe side seam and lapsections at the=end thereof?- When the bumper I4 is withdrawn after com- Fig. 3, owing to the inherent resiliency of the metal. This often results in a -d'e'fectiveiseam at this point because these ove'rlapped portions which are held together during the-applicationof solder thereto, spring apart when the soldering roll is withdrawn, beforeithe solder.hashard; ened sufficiently to hold these overlapped portions together. diificulty will now be described.

A pair of: setting down or burnpin'g pinsli and 29 are-mounted respectivelyfon the -bumper i and a-brnoket fifi attach'ed to the ca'rrienz its aszvby means of boltsflt and 21 'l hese pinsextendzupwavdiy beneath the horn -in: 1 positiom' toz' contact eacnzlanseetion -onlytlor thezside s eamiiwhenithe latte :has been fed forward' oyithew fingers:- i3 aiter themumpmg 'ioperati-on v The; pin :2 9 :isoadjustable lengthwiseinxthebraoket for spacingtthe pinsstorcorrespend tor-the length off the-blank. An'ia-djustment iSCI'eW. 3E! inzlthe bracket 25 serVes to. Fad-j ust: th'e looationuof the hammer fl 4: anda gage 3| in proper relation to thei position ofigthe canibod-yi'i'iieat theibodyiormingstation.. Aspline insert 32 in the forming horn H, is arranged; to form: the:'hooked? longitudinalsside I-seam' oft the container; bodm A baoki-ng member 33 serve's to support the horn': H duringst-hebumping ioperation'.

After the bumping: operation-,= thewslide rbar- 12 operates to advance the workpiece and-position it onia-nf extension:of;the horn -including a bar 35 or backing strip for the seam and in whichisan insert-ban Shhaving; its-inner edge :31 (Fig. v4) projecting; downwardlybeyond the -lower face. of the bar 35. The outer or lower face'vofv-theloar 36 at said: edges is thus ofisetrdownwardly below oroutwa-rdlyifrom theadjoinin gefacesofi the backing strip 35. The insert bar 36 isr-inipositionto extendalong one; side of the: *longitudinala seam and -when; the. carrier IE is -movedupward, each oi -the settingadownpins-28i and-2 9:. engages a lowerlap. 1 2| andw foroes -itupwardly, thereby forming abend, 38in the-metal around the corner of--the bar- 35-. Each settingedown pinis =ofset laterally a shortdistancefrom-theedge 31 (Fig. 4) sufficient .-to;-prevent shearing? of. the metall'at said edge: and to; permit: said formation of; the bend 3 8.-- Thereisthus produced-\adformation or molecular rearrangement in the metal along this'b'endby. which the tendency of 'thelap to springioutward I in" the. manner shown dang. 3 is removed. The resiliency oroutwards bias. of theinnerl'ap 2:2"is. not afiecte'd-by this operation, so that'when the pins 28; 2'9"areflwithdrawn the laps '2'!" and 22 will retain their proper relation, (shown in Fig; 4),- for'the solderingaoperation. In this manner all tendency. of'the'laps totsp'ring apart afterthesol'der roll has been-withdrawn is' 'over'come; so thatthere is-no movementof-the laps relativetoeacn'otner while the'solder is cool ingiand hardening;

Modifications, may be, resorted to within the spir iti andscope of my invention.

11 A lapandilock seam body forming. machine comprising: a; horn around which the container body" is formed and the hooks interlocked, a

The mechanism for overcoming'this bumping means for bumping the interlocked hooks, said horn having an "extension provided with an outwardly offset portiondisposed along one side of the lap sections of the side seam, and bumping devices associated with said extension of thehornand disposed at the lap sections of the side seam for engaging the lap sections only subsequenttoi the bumping of the seam for bending theinetai 'at tl 1eside of each outer lap section in- *wardlyover said offset portion to tension the metal supporting" said outer lap section so as to hold'the lap sections in intimate contact while solder bonding.

A lap and lock seam body forming machine comprising a horn around which the container body; is formed-and the -hooks interlocked abumping: means fon:bumping ;the .-interloeked;-.hooks, said: horn having-an extension; as bar carriedsby said extension and'havingits outer-.edge'offsetout-- wardly, said bar being disposedalong onej'sideof tloe-v lap sections of, the, side seam,; bumpin i'pins spaced" lengthwise ofithecan body-so as to-engage the lap sections; of the seam only; and-rmeans-for moving-said pins into engagement. with said outer lap" sections f or bending inwardlythelmetal along the outwardly projecting. portions of said banlto tension the metal-supporting: the outer lap section so as to-hold the lapsectionsin intimate'cons tact whilesolder bonding;

3: A :lapand lockseam ,bodyi-formingpmachine comprising. a horn-around, which, the: container body is formedandthehooks inter1ocked,:a-.bump'- ingt means for bumping, thehinterlockedn hooks, said horm having an.extension,.a bar carried saidextensionand having its :outer .edge. as. setloutwardly; said than being; disposed: along rone side ofth'e lap sections of the sideeseam said bumping means, including. a hammer;v a ireciproeating, support carrying, said lhammer, bu ing pins mountedfor reciprocationon the support for the hammer. andipositioned. so. as tQMengage. the outer lap-sections only OfMtheLSid seam on.the horn extension for bendingpinwardl'ythe metal along the outwardly projectingnport'ions.ofisaid bar to tension the. metal -supporting the .outerlap section so as to hold. the lapsectionsjn intimate contact while solder bonding, and means foripresentin'gfsaid container bodies one afteranother to thebumping hammer and the rbumpingnpinse.

Theifollowing references:- are of" records in: the file ofithi-spatent:

UNITED Numbfen Name Date,

206,031 Mather J uly, 16, 1.8.7 8 1,086,100. Clark -Feb,..10,;1914 1,31510001. Anderson .Sept.-\2, ,1919 1,475,399 Kitonquest Novt27 z193 3 11543,?' Troyeri .Iune:23; 1925 116250911 Peters -r Apr.. L9; 1927 113631970 Bi'enzingen M'aLuZ'L 1928 1177 0,041] Peters Jilly 8,.1930 867,857 Meyers. -July-.19; 1932 2,070,906" Krus'e h Eb. 116;.1937 211831738" Bren'zinger Dec.t19; 1939 2,335,916" coyle Deow7 19.43

FOREIGN: PATENTS.

Number Country Date 67, 941 Germany- Aug: 16} 1892 

